UFC returns to Paris with former KSW champion Salahdine Parnasse making promotional debut – POST Wrestling

The UFC will stage its fifth event in France this weekend with the highly anticipated promotional debut of Salahdine Parnasse in the main event.

The lightweight attraction is a rarity of a debuting fighter for the organization in a headline role as he meets stalwart Dan Hooker in a five-round contest.

Parnasse, 28, is from France and enters the UFC with a 23-2 record. His profile grew enormously fighting for KSW, where he became a two-division champion at featherweight and lightweight. A winner of his last four fights, he was heavily featured on MVP’s debut MMA card on Netflix this past May, where he stopped Kenneth Cross in the opening round at the Intuit Dome, under the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano main event.

Hooker, 36, will enter the Octagon for the 25^th time in his career. The 24-14 fighter is winless in his last two outings, submitted by Arman Tsarukyan last November and stopped by Benoit Saint-Denis this past February at UFC 325 in Australia.

The card includes another lightweight contest involving Farès Ziam (18-5) and Axel Sola (12-1-1), in a battle of French fighters. Ziam has been fighting for the UFC since 2019 and saw a six-fight winning streak end this past June by Tom Nolan in Ziam’s first loss in four years. Sola fought for the French-based Ares FC group, where he was its lightweight champion, before moving to the UFC last year. Sola lost his promotional debut to Mason Jones by decision but bounced back with a submission of Ismael Bonfim in July.

Michael “Venom” Page (25-3) will attempt to extend his three-fight win streak when he competes against Nursulton Ruziboev (37-9-2, 2 NC). Page left Bellator for the UFC in 2024 and has gone 4-1 in the organization, with wins against Shara Magomedov, Jared Cannonier, and Sam Patterson in his last three fights. Uzbekistan’s Ruziboev is 5-1 in the UFC and enters the contest on a three-fight winning streak, last competing in June, when he submitted Andrey Pulyaev.

All fighters made weight on Friday.

MAIN CARD (3 p.m. ET on Paramount+)

• • Salahdine Parnasse (23-2) vs. Dan Hooker (24-14)
  • Farès Ziam (18-5) vs. Axel Sola (12-1-1)
  • Michael Venom Page (25-3) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (37-9-2)
  • Punahele Soriano (13-4) vs. Daniil Donchenko (14-2)
  • Kurtis Campbell (8-1) vs. Trevor Peek (9-3)
  • Losene Keita (16-2) vs. Muhammad Naimov (13-4)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Noon ET on Paramount+)

• • Felipe Lima (14-2) vs. Morgan Charrière (21-12-1)
  • Ryan Spann (24-11) vs. Mário Pinto (12-0)
  • Modestas Bukauskas () vs. Oumar Sy (8-0)
  • Nathaniel Wood (23-6) vs. Pavel Andrusca ()
  • Fabià Sintes (11-3) vs. Michael Aljarouj (13-3)
  • Nora Cornolle (9-4) vs. Klaudia Sygula (8-2)
  • Matthieu Letho Duclos (10-3) vs. Luis Felipe Dias (17-5)
  • Delphine Benouaich (7-2) vs. Sofia Montenegro (6-2)